Saudi Arabia-based MBC Group posted massive gains in profit and revenue in its half-year results.
Revenue for the six months to June 30 was up 37.8% year-on-year to hit SAR3 billion ($800M), while net profit grew even further, up 41.1% to hit SAR 335 million (89M).
However, on a quarterly basis, revenue grew just 2.5% for the second quarter, hitting SAR 987.9 million, and net profit declined a massive 38.3%, which was attributed to Ramadan coinciding with the first 10 days of the 2024 quarter. In 2025, Ramadan fell entirely within Q1.
MBC Group CEO Mike Sneesby, who joined the company earlier this year, said the H1 results “demonstrate the strength and resilience” of MBC’s business model, which comprises its linear TV networks, production studio and streamer Shahid. Specifically, he noted: “Our advertising performance continues to benefit from the group’s geographically diversified footprint, which has helped us to mitigate the impact of geopolitical volatility.”
MBC’s Broadcast, Operations, Content and Advertising (BOCA) division once again anchored the business’ performance with H1 revenues rising 29.6% to SAR1.73 billion and net profit rising 23.7% to SAR314.1M. Going against global trends, TV revenues were up 13.3% to SAR 863.4 million,”reflecting continued advertiser demand across MBC’s free-to-air platforms.”
Shahid, which recently struck a landmark carriage agreement with Netflix, saw revenues grow 25% for H1, reaching SAR696.8 million, with SVOD revenues up nearly the same amount to hit SAR540.3 million. This was down to “a clear content strategy and the newly implemented password-sharing policy, which limits account usage to a single IP address unless upgraded to a premium tier.” AVOD revenues were steady, particularly during the Ramadan peak in Q1.
Shahid was even able to post a profit of SAR2.7 million, reversing an SAR 23.2 million loss for the same period in the first half of 2024.
MBC pointed to titles such as Saudi-Turklish drama TV series adaptation Omni, pan-Arab drama thrille Aser and Al A’sha, a social drama series, as key performance drivers.
“As we continue to expand our footprint across the region, our strategic focus remains unchanged: invest in scalable, high-impact content, grow our digital platforms, and lead the evolution of Arab media,” said Sneesby. “We have best-in-class capabilities across production, broadcasting, and streaming, and we will continue to apply commercial discipline in evaluating opportunities, pursuing only those that align with our long-term strategic objectives and return thresholds.”
